Law / United States / Rhode Island
Rhode Island Computer Crime chapter, unauthorized access and computer trespass
R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 11-52-1, 11-52-2, 11-52-3, 11-52-4.1, 11-52-5, 11-52-6
A citation is an address, not a summary. The first part names the law; what follows narrows it to the exact section, article or paragraph.
In force.
A computer misuse rule binding public and private bodies.
As of 6 September 2026.
What it requires
- Do not access a Rhode Island-connected computer, system, or network without the owner's permission, or beyond the scope of permission actually granted; this chapter's without-authority standard reaches exceeding permission as well as having none.
- Do not use a computer or network without authority and with intent to disable, alter, or erase data or programs, or to cause a malfunction, even where no fraudulent purpose is involved.
- A person injured by a violation of this chapter may sue for compensatory and punitive damages plus attorney's fees; this private right of action is broader than the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA)'s civil-suit route.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Private right of actionYes
Penalty structure
Two tiers under section 11-52-5: a felony conviction under the chapter carries a fine of not more than $5,000 and imprisonment of not more than five years, or both; a misdemeanor conviction under the chapter carries a fine of not more than $500 and imprisonment of not more than one year, or both. Section 11-52-4.1's own text sets a separate misdemeanor tier for computer trespass where the property value is $500 or less: imprisonment of not more than one year and a fine of not more than $1,000, a different fine amount from the chapter's general misdemeanor tier.
- Rule
- Fixed only
- As of
- 6 September 2026
- Currency
- USD
- Fixed cap
- 5,000
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
Section 11-52-1(15)(v) defines a person as "without authority" when he or she has no right or permission of the owner to use a computer, or uses a computer in a manner exceeding his or her right or permission, a broad without-permission-or-exceeding-permission standard rather than the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA)'s narrower gates-based test.
Section 11-52-3 makes it a felony to intentionally and without authorization access, alter, damage, or destroy a computer, system, network, program, or data for a fraudulent or other illegal purpose. Section 11-52-4.1 separately criminalizes using a computer or network without authority and with intent to disable data or programs, cause a malfunction, alter or erase data, forge bulk-email headers, or similar disruptive acts, regardless of a fraudulent purpose.
Felony violations of the chapter carry a fine of not more than five thousand dollars and imprisonment of not more than five years, or both. The lesser tier under section 11-52-4.1 (property value of five hundred dollars or less) is a misdemeanor punishable by not more than one year and a one-thousand-dollar fine, a different fine amount from the chapter's general misdemeanor tier of five hundred dollars.
Section 11-52-6 gives any person injured by a violation of the chapter a private civil right of action for compensatory damages, punitive damages, court costs, and reasonable attorney's fees, broader than the federal CFAA's civil-suit route, which is conditioned on specific categories of loss.
When LexLint raises it
crawls_web
Read the law
official text, Rhode Island General Laws (webserver.rilegislature.gov)